S.N. Bhatt (now 94 years) and Vijay Laxmi Bhatt (now 87) who underwent Total Knee Replacement at Apollo Hospitals Delhi have become the oldest couple in the country to undergo bilateral total knee replacement (TKR) in a single sitting.

While Mr. Bhatt underwent TKR of both knees (bilateral) in a single operation (under same anaesthesia) in April last year at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital here, his wife was successfully operated upon six months later. Indraprastha Apollo Hospital senior consultant orthopaedics and joint replacement surgeon Dr. Raju Vaishya who operated on the duo has now filed for a new record with the Limca Book.

Mr. Bhatt, who retired as Principal of a degree college, played hockey along with the late legendary Dhyanchand when he was young and an avid horse rider as well. ""With this surgery it's like a new lease of life for me and I feel like playing hockey again!"" he said at a Press conference.

He said that before the surgery he was forced to use a wheelchair because of acute arthritis. His son who is an anaesthetist encouraged him to go in for TKR.

""An active schedule in his prime years enabled Mr. Bhatt to keep lifestyle diseases at bay and besides arthritis and mild hypertension he had no other ailment before the surgery. However, he had huge defects in the tibia (shin bone) which required bone grafting and therefore his surgery lasted about three hours. Mr. Bhatt started walking in four days post surgery and was discharged from the hospital after six days. And with this, he also entered the Limca Book of Records as the world's oldest man to have undergone bilateral TKR in a single sitting,"" said Dr. Raju Vaishya.

Delighted at being able to perform activities of daily living with complete ease, he convinced his wife, Vijay Laxmi, to undergo bilateral TKR in a single sitting as well. Vijay Laxmi was operated in November last year -- six months after her husband's surgery -- despite ischemic heart disease.

""This makes them the oldest living couple in the country to undergo bilateral TKR in a single sitting,"" said Dr. Vaishya.

The physician noted that TKR is one of the most successful orthopaedic surgeries that have even surpassed the outstanding long-term results of total hip replacement.